Review: Dublin Eden Boots

Having finally owned and worn these boots for a solid 3 months, I think now is a fairly appropriate time to do a review.

 

Dublin Eden Boots – RRP $249.99

 

When I started my new job, I realised it meant I would once more have to be out in the field working practically with both students and horses, and not just being in the lecture hall.

Cue me frantically checking if my old boots were of an acceptable standard for our dress code.

Spoiler alert: they were not

This was immediately followed by a trip into the local Horseland to try and get my hands on some work appropriate boots ASAP.

Given at this point we were still sitting in the middle of our never ending heatwave, I was actually planning on going for some trusty Ariat Terrains again, instead of long boots.

Pretty? Not overly.
Comfy? Unbelievably!

 

However, being the absolute tight arse that I am who refuses to buy anything not on sale, I was out of luck. And those shoes aren’t cheap for something I knew I would need to swap out in Winter.

I then turn to the Dublin long boots, having once had a trusty pair of Dublin Pinnacles a few years ago, and loved them before they all but fell apart off my foot after much abuse.

 

RIP old friends

 

They were a sort of mock riding boot which I unequivocally never rode in. But I did always swap in and out of my top boots for these whenever I wasn’t riding. Top boots only ever go on when I am about to mount up, but I still didn’t need a full riding boot style.

I have a weird tread pattern thanks to my dysfunctional hips, and excess walking in expensive shoes is a quick way to destroy them and I do not have the money to continuously replace top boots.

 

 

The Dublin long boot range was on sale – woo!

The Dublin Pinnacles were not in my size – womp.

What was available gave me two options, the Edens or the Clydes.

 

Dublin Clyde Boots

 

In all honestly, I probably liked the Clydes more but it meant having to go half a size too big and I just couldn’t wrap my head around the little hand holdy bits.

Safe to say, on initial impressions the Eden’s weren’t really my thing but circle back to the comment re: tight arse and that was my choice.

Funnily enough, for boots I didn’t think much of I have never had more compliments on shoes! So maybe I just have poor taste. That being said they have really grown on me, and now I quite like the English aesthetic.

 

This horse knows tweed is the way to go

 

Despite daily abuse, they have never rubbed, blistered or been uncomfortable – including my 10 hour walk around the MI3DE XC course.

They have also never failed on the waterproof front, even on the tweed area.

 

Three months, zero cleans, hanging in there

 

So, are there any downsides?

Yes, unfortunately a (relatively) small one, that also happened in my Pinnacles a few years ago.

The constant pulling and pushing of these boots onto and off of my feet means the fabric around the heel area has started to un-stick, and it traps my foot in the boot unless I can find something to poke down the back and hold the fabric while I pull myself free.

 

Real footage of me after removing my boots

 

When this first happened with the Pinnacles I was in such a state of trying to free myself I ended up cutting the internal fabric, because I was young(er) and for some reason panicked.

This time being older and wiser, I just get a lunge whip or something long, skinny and straight to hold down the left heel (right is still at ok this point). It’s not ideal, but has been surprisingly easy to manage.

The world has an abundance of long, skinny and straight things to stuff in a boot it would seem.

But, how do these boots rank after my torture?

 

These boots… they’ve seen things

 

Value:

To be brutally honest, I probably wouldn’t pay full retail for them with this heel lifting issue. But I didn’t, I got them for about half price which means for my outlay the value was pretty good. But in general…

Appearance:

As I said, I wasn’t initially the biggest fan, but they’ve grown on me so much and I always get asked about them. They might not be everyone’s cup of tea but I actually quite like them now…

Comfort:

Cannot fault. They’re comfortable, warm and dry, and these boots have done some serious werk since I have owned them…